This application is based on Japanese Patent Application No. 10-371348 (1998) filed Dec. 25, 1998, the content of which is incorporated hereinto by reference.
1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a recording apparatus and a recording-medium supply apparatus provided with an automatic sheet feeder (ASF) for supplying sheet automatically.
2. Description of the Related Art
Recorded data of a plurality of sheets transmitted to a recording apparatus may include a blank page having no data to be recorded. When such a blank page is included, a conventional recording apparatus would drive an ASF, a sheet-conveyance roller, etc., irrespective of whether a page in question is blank page or not, to perform a series of sheet conveying operations such as sheet supply, paper feed, and paper displacement, thus feeding out the blank page following a page on which a recording image is formed.
Therefore, the above-mentioned conventional recording apparatus requires, for a page on which no recording is performed, almost the same time and driving force as those required for a page on which recording is performed, thus leading to a problem of deteriorating a recording efficiency. This problem is remarkable particularly in the case where there is provided a plurality of blank pages.
In view of the above, it is an object of the present invention to provide a recording apparatus and a recording-medium supply apparatus capable of effectively supplying paper in the case where there is a blank page included in pages on which recording is to be performed, thus improving the overall efficiency of recording operations.
In the first aspect of the present invention, there is provided a recording apparatus having a conveyance path for a recording medium comprising:
means for conveying a recording medium along the conveyance path;
a hold means for holding a plurality of recording media; and
recording-medium supply means for supplying a recording medium from the hold means to the conveyance path,
wherein the recording-medium supply means supplies a recording medium in either mode selected based on recording data, of a single-sheet supply mode in which a recording medium held in the hold means is supplied one sheet by another to the conveyance path and an overlap supply mode in which a recording medium of a number of sheets obtained by adding one to a number of sheets of consecutive blank pages with no recording data is overlapped and supplied to the conveyance path.
Here, the recording-medium supply means may comprise:
a single-sheet supply mechanism for performing a single-sheet supply mode in which a recording medium held in the hold means is supplied one sheet by another to the conveyance path;
an overlap supply mechanism for performing an overlap/supply mode in which a recording medium as many sheets as a value obtained by adding one to a number of sheets of consecutive blank pages with no recording medium is overlapped and supplied to the conveyance path;
retrieval means for retrieving the recording data to retrieve a page number of a blank page with no recording data and also a number of sheets of consecutive blank pages;
setting means for setting a value obtained by adding one to a number of sheets of consecutive blank pages retrieved by the blank-page retrieval means, as a number of overlap sheets corresponding to a page number of a first blank page of the consecutive blank pages; and
supply control means for selectively driving the overlap supply mechanism and the single-sheet supply mechanism,
wherein the supply control means uses the overlap supply mechanism to overlap and supply a recording medium of a number of overlap sheets corresponding to the page number of head blank page if a recording medium to be supplied to a conveyance path corresponds to the page number of head blank page and, if a recording medium to be supplied to a conveyance path does not correspond to the page number of head blank page, uses the single-sheet supply mechanism to sequentially supply a single sheet of the recording medium; and
a recording section for performing recording data to a recording medium records recording data of a page immediately following a blank page to an outermost recording medium of a plurality of overlapped recording medium.
The recording-medium supply means may comprise:
a single-sheet supply mechanism for performing a single-sheet mode in which a recording medium held in the hold means is supplied one sheet by another to a conveyance path;
an overlap supply mechanism for performing an overlap/supply mode in which a recording medium as many sheets as a value obtained by adding one to a number of sheets of consecutive blank pages with no recording medium is overlapped and supplied to the conveyance path;
retrieval means for retrieving the recording data to retrieve a page number of a blank page with no recording data and a number of sheets of consecutive blank pages;
setting means for setting a value obtained by adding one to a number of sheets of consecutive blank pages retrieved by the blank-page retrieval means as a number of overlap sheets corresponding to a page number of a start page of consecutive blank pages; and
supply control means for selectively driving the overlap supply mechanism and the single-sheet mechanism,
wherein the supply control means uses the overlap supply mechanism to overlap and supply a recording medium of a number of overlap sheets which is set corresponding to the page number of head blank page if a recording medium to be supplied to a conveyance path is a recording medium immediately preceding a recording medium corresponding to the page number of head blank page and, if a recording medium to be supplied to a conveyance path does not correspond to the page number of head blank page, uses the single-sheet supply mechanism to sequentially supply a single sheet of the recording medium; and
a recording section for performing recording to a recording medium records recording data of a page immediately preceding a blank page to an outermost recording medium of a plurality of overlapped recording medium.
The conveyance path may be used to sequentially discharge the recording medium so that the recording medium may be overlapped with a recording face thereof facing upward.
The conveyance path may be used to sequentially discharge the recording medium so that the recording medium may be overlapped with a recording face thereof facing downward.
The overlap/supply mechanism may comprise:
a pressure application member provided so as to be movable both in a direction of supplying a recording medium and in a direction of laminating medium, with respect to a rear end of recording medium overlapped in a hold means;
supply/driving means for moving the pressure application member in the direction of supplying a recording medium; and
pressure-application-position adjustment means for moving the pressure application means in the laminating direction;
wherein after an opposing position with respect to a rear end of a recording medium is adjusted by the pressure-application-position adjustment means, the supply/driving means is driven to permit a pressure application means to reciprocate in order to pressure a rear end of a plurality of recording media that oppose the pressure application member of recording media overlapped in a hold means, thus pushing out the plurality of recording media to the conveyance path.
The overlap/supply mechanism may comprise:
a pressure application member provided so as to be movable both in a direction of supplying a recording medium and in a direction of laminating a recording medium, with respect to a rear end of recording medium overlapped in a hold means;
supply/driving means for moving the pressure application member in the direction of supplying a recording medium; and
pressure-application-position adjustment means for moving the pressure application means in the laminating direction;
wherein after an opposing position with respect to a rear end of a recording medium is adjusted by the pressure-application-position adjustment means, the supply/driving means is driven to permit a pressure application means to reciprocate in order to pressure a rear end of a plurality of recording media that oppose the pressure application member of recording media overlapped in a hold means, thus pushing out the plurality of recording media to the conveyance path.
The single-sheet supply mechanism may comprise: a supply roller separably provided to a recording medium placed at an outermost position of recording media overlapped in a hold means and supply-roller driving means for rotationally driving the supply roller; and by rotating the supply roller by use of the supply-roller driving means, a recording medium at an outermost place in contact with the supply roller is supplied and, when an overlap/supply mechanism is driven, and held in such a state as not to be prevented from moving in a direction of supplying the recording medium.
The supply roller may comprise on a peripheral surface thereof: a contact section which comes in contact with a recording medium; and a non-contact section which is separated from the recording medium, so that when an overlap/supply mechanism is driven, supply-roller-driving means stops rotation of a supply roller at such a phase that the non-contact section of the supply roller may oppose a recording medium.
The hold means may be box-shaped, to an inner surface of which is fixed a separating member with a high friction coefficient to be contacted with a front end of a recording medium in a supply-direction.
The conveyance means may be comprised of: a conveyance roller arranged in a conveyance path, and conveyance-roller driving means for rotationally driving the conveyance roller; and the conveyance-roller driving means rotates the conveyance roller by conveying to a recording position by a recording section a recording medium supplied by the recording-medium supply mechanism to a conveyance path, and in synchronization with movement in a main scanning direction by a recording section, conveys the recording medium in a sub-scanning direction which intersects with the main scanning direction.
The recording section may generate a bubble to ink by means of thermal energy to discharge ink by means of pressure of the bubble.
In the second aspect of the present invention, there is provided a recording-medium supply apparatus comprising:
a single-sheet supply mechanism for performing a single-sheet supply mode in which a recording medium held in a predetermined hold means is supplied one sheet by another to a conveyance path; and
an overlap/supply mechanism for performing an overlap/supply mode in which a recording medium held in the hold means is supplied to a conveyance path in such a state as to be overlapped as many as a desired number of sheets.
The above and other objects, effects, features, and advantages of the present invention will become more apparent from the following description of embodiments thereof taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings.